New Video: Blacastan & Stu Bangas f/ Apathy "Summa Cum Laude"

Official Army Of The Pharaohs and Demigodz emcee Blacastan has been steadily staking his claim to the title of ‘savior of underground rap music’ since his debut mixtape Me Against The Radio and its key cut and video "Life Of A Tape" became an underground cult classic in 2007. The rapper turned his attention to the mic after the Hartford, CT street life and his strong-arm style of handling business, left a then 16-year-old Blacastan serving a bid in the mid-'90s. He emerged from prison with a remarkable skill set, a throwback style and an unrivaled drive. His 2010 debut album Blac Sabbath boasted production & vocals from the likes of Statik Selektah, Blue Sky BlackDeath, Mr. Green, Esoteric and Celph Titled, and 2012’s The Master Builder Part II, which was mixed by legendary DJ Doo Wop, had features from Slaine and Reef the Lost Cauze, among others.

He has since also racked up appearances on Jedi Mind Tricks Violence Begets Violence, the Army of The Pharaohs albums In Death Reborn and Heavy Lies The Crown, the DemigodzKillmatic album, Apathy’s Wanna Snuggle?, Mr Lif’s Don’t Look Down and Czarface’s A Fistful of Peril, plus toured extensively across Europe, North America, and Australia with Celph Titled and Block McCloud.

2014 saw Blac teaming up with producer and longtime AOTP and Demigodz collaborator Stu Bangas for the first installment of Watson & Holmes, which featured Esoteric, Apathy, Celph Titled and Vinnie Paz. Stu has been in the trenches since the early 2000s, producing heatrocks for Slaine, Esoteric, Tragedy Khadafi, Heltah Skeltah, Jedi Mind Tricks, Vinnie Paz, Blaq Poet, Copywrite, Chino XL, Cappadonna, AOTP and Sean Price, including the lead single “Definition of God” from Sean Price's upcoming posthumous album Imperius Rex.

The duo is back with The Uncanny Adventures of Watson & Holmes, a sophomore effort that improves on the first in every way. Stu gets completely brutal with the beats, and Blac ups the ante on the rhymes. Plus, they’ve enlisted Ill Bill (Non-Phixion, La Coka Nostra), Nutso, Apathy (Demigodz, AOTP) 7L & Esoteric (AOTP, Czarface), and Tragedy Khadafi to lend their talents to the project.

Blac explains that this time around, he “really dug in and executive produced it: every sample, every transition, every edit.” He adds “People might not realize it, but this album took 4 years to make! I also worked closely with engineer Eddie Sancho on crafting the actual sound of the album... Stu and I are so familiar with each other’s process that we already know what the other is thinking before he thinks it.” Stu elaborates, saying that “this time around we tried out different tempos, different vibes for songs, and Blac played around with different rhyme patterns, so it shows how we have both grown as artists.”

Blacastan & Stu Bangas The Uncanny Adventures of Watson & Holmes will be released on 6-9-17 via Brick Records.